The UK’s economic outlook may be uncertain, but graduates can take heart in the fact that the graduate job market is expected to improve this year. According to a recent survey from the Institute of Student Employers, there will be an 11% rise in vacancies, marking a return to double-digit growth last seen in 2015 – when openings went up 13% – before the Brexit vote the following year. Compare this with a 1% rise in 2017 and this is welcome news indeed.
The expected earnings gap between poorer graduates and their more economically privileged counterparts is moving in the right direction, too. But progress is slow. According to research for this year’s TARGETjobs National Graduate Recruitment awards, students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds expect to earn £27,616 after graduation, while less well off students put their earnings at £24,108. This £3,508 gap between the two groups is an improvement on last year’s, which was the highest ever recorded at £4,400, but is still considerable.
A poll of more than 73,000 students from 127 universities carried out by Trendence UK showed just 9% from poorer backgrounds predict they will earn more than £31,000 after graduation, compared with 20% of wealthier students who expect to earn that amount. Interestingly, almost a third of poorer students want to work in the public sector, compared with just 16% of wealthier students, who are more attracted to investment banking and consulting.
Diversity in graduate recruitment was a key focus for the employers at the TARGETjobs awards, which took place at Grosvenor House in London in late March and were attended by more than 1,500 guests. The awards are the world’s biggest student-driven graduate recognition scheme, with nearly 100,000 individual votes from undergraduates, apprentices and school-leavers.
“The more diverse the candidates the better,” said Jenny Taylor, IBM’s early professional leader for the UK. IBM, which runs a range of schemes aimed at attracting recruits from different backgrounds, won the top prize of graduate employer of the year. Alongside its graduate recruitment programme, IBM offers a work placement for disadvantaged young people, a 12-month work experience post for school-leavers and an apprenticeship scheme.
“IBM is very keen to encourage people from all backgrounds to come into the company,” said Taylor. “We see with our disadvantaged young people when they come in and they say things like: ‘I’d never have thought I would cross IBM’s doorstep’ and we’re thinking: ‘Why would you think that?’ Confidence levels are low. They are bright and have everything to give.”
IBM’s most famous apprentice is Christopher Achiampong, who has become one of the faces of the government’s Get in, Go Far apprenticeships campaign. Achiampong, who grew up in a council estate in east London, was destined for a football career until an injury meant plans needed to change. “[Chris] is the most superb example of social mobility and how to succeed,” said Taylor. IBM also has a group of young professionals called the employee alliance for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender empowerment, who take part in recruitment outreach on campuses and in schools.
Law firm Clifford Chance, the winner of the TARGETjobs best on-boarding experience, best work experience programme and best graduate website, has long been a champion of LGBT employees. The firm, which has been a gold sponsor of LGBT student group National Student Pride (NSP) since 2013, is a headline sponsor of the TARGETjobs awards in partnership with NSP.
Laura Yeates, head of graduate talent at Clifford Chance, said: “Being headline sponsors gives NSP a much bigger platform for employers and students alike, so that hopefully next year it’s even bigger and better than ever with the employers in attendance, but also raising more awareness among the student population.” Clifford Chance and NSP organised a raffle on the awards night for the Albert Kennedy Trust, the homeless charity for young LGBT people, and managed to raise more than £8,000 for the cause.
The winner of the best diversity strategy award was the Civil Service Fast Stream graduate programme, which recruits around 1,200 graduates annually into central government. The civil service attributes an improvement in its success rates for black, Asian and ethnic minority candidates as well as those from lower socio-economic backgrounds in part to its focus on engaging potential recruits on campus, partnerships with diversity agencies, and changes in its approach to social media and its selection process. Rupert McNeil, government chief people officer, said: “The [Fast Stream] programme is long-established as being a key pipeline for leadership roles, and our aim is to be the most inclusive graduate and early talent employer by 2020.”
Rising star of the year award
Prior to the ceremony, a team of students met at the Guardian’s offices to decide 12 student panel awards, including the rising star award. Here, the three finalists reveal the stories behind their success.
Jacob Bush, 32, (overall winner) GSK
I was greatly inspired by my chemistry teacher at school. He had industry experience, so when he was introducing concepts he was able to talk about where they were actually applied in the real world and that brought the subject to life for me.
I went to Oxford to study chemistry as an undergrad and then stayed on to do a PhD in chemical biology and joined Professor Chris Schofield’s research team. The job with GSK came up and there was a day-long interview, which was an opportunity to learn what it was like to work there. I was worried it would be a spoon-fed environment where you are micromanaged, but it quickly become clear it’s not like that at all.
At GSK I look at ways to accelerate drug discovery, as it can take many years to develop new medicines. I’m particularly interested in artificial intelligence and chemical biology and I’ve been given the freedom to explore new opportunities in those areas. I played a key role in forming a new partnership between GSK and the biotech company Exscientia, and I’ve been involved in launching a new PhD programme for chemical biology students between GSK, Oxford University and the Francis Crick Institute. I’m continuing my PhD work looking at how medicine interacts with the body through a GSK PhD programme in partnership with Strathclyde University. I’m the supervisor for two students on that programme and it’s been fun working with them and seeing them develop.
Margarita Skarkou, 25, (second runner-up) Barclays
I studied civil engineering at Edinburgh University, but from the start I had a feeling that it wasn’t what I wanted to follow as a career path. Banking was something I’d thought about for a while, so in my penultimate year I applied for a Barclays leadership weekend. The programme was full, but Barclays invited me to be fast tracked on to its internship programme. After the internship, I was offered a graduate role and I joined the leadership programme, focusing on risk management. I’ve just accepted a role to work in a new division called Barclays Ventures.
One of my proudest achievements beyond my work is a scheme I set up at Barclays called the Junior Leaders Initiative which allows graduate recruits to work on projects directly with the risk executive committee. My thinking was that this would not only allow graduates to work on exciting projects and network with the top team but executives would benefit from a fresh way of thinking. I pitched the idea to the function’s executive committee and was asked to project manage it for the first year. I’m also involved in an initiative at Barclays called Women on Boards, aimed at getting more females on corporate boards. We run events and mentoring sessions and now we’re working with the 30% Club, the campaign group pushing for greater representation of women on the boards of FTSE 100 companies.
Lauren Clark, 25, (third runner-up) FDM Group
I really took to accounting at school and loved my teacher, so I went on to study accounting at the University of Strathclyde. What I liked about my degree course was that is was very broad and provided great overall business training. There was a management development programme and I also had classes in finance, marketing, business law and economics. After graduating I got a job as a finance analyst, which I loved, and I then decided to look for consultancy opportunities. I found out about FDM and felt it would be a great fit for me as I had recently graduated and it offered all the training I would very likely need.
I joined FDM’s business analysis stream and went on an intensive training programme. It covered a wide range of modules and also offered an industry recognised qualification. After the training, you get a placement with one of FDM’s clients to put what you’ve learned into practice. I have been on my placement with HSBC for just under two years now and love my role as a business management analyst. It’s a global role, so I’ve been able to connect with different cultures, and no two days in my job are the same. I feel I’ve really clicked with my team and managed to acquire a huge amount of experience in a relatively short period of time.
